The following article from the Accra weeky, Public Agenda, was seen on
AllAfrica.com at http://allafrica.com/stories/200703050501.html . (NB-
Prof. Prah is Ghanaian but is based in South Africa where he heads
CASAS). Don
South Africa: Academic Asks Ghanaians to Discard Westernisation
Public Agenda (Accra)
[no URL]
March 2, 2007
Posted to the web March 5, 2007
Patricia Ofori Atta
Accra
The Executive Director of the Centre for Advanced Study of Africa
Societies (CASAS) based in Cape Town, South Africa, Professor Kwesi
Kwaa Prah has asked Ghanaians to discard western culture and return to
the modest lives they lived during the Nkrumah era.
"People think that, the western culture is the best but the real
culture of Ghanaians is not being used", he said, at a public lecture
organized by the Citizens for New Ghana at the Teachers Hall in Accra.
It was under the theme "50 years of Ghana's Independence: The balance
sheet, which way forward?
Prof Prah lamented the inability of some Ghanaians to speak their
native languages because they have adopted western cultures in
exchange for jobs and other things abroad.
He has therefore urged Ghanaians to always try to use their local
language, wherever they may find themselves for the simple reason that
they cannot compete with the white man.
"It is a shame that people cannot speak their own language , but
foreigners who visit Ghana learn the language faster than us."
Prof Prah recalled that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first
President always wanted Ghanaians to be proud of who they are; hence,
it is sad that many Ghanaians have forgotten their cultural values.
According to him, in celebrating the nation's 50th Independence, it is
important for Ghanaians to also celebrate Dr Nkrumah because he led
the struggle for Ghana's independence.
He described Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah as a great man in all of West
Africa and that Ghana's achievement as the first sub -Saharan country
to attain independence from colonial rule is attributed to Dr
Nkrumah's leadership qualities.
The Professor dismissed the assertion that Dr Nkrumah used state money
for unnecessary trips abroad and also mismanaged the nation's
resources, pointing out, "Dr Nkrumah was an honest man and indeed, he
proved to the whole world that he was a man of justice."
He said it was not for nothing that Dr Nkrumah won the BBC Man of the
Millennium. Prof. however, admitted that Dr. Nkrumah made political
mistakes as a result of his friendships through out the African
continent, particularly his association with Arabs. This culminated in
his entrapment and eventual overthrow by his enemies.
On the legacy that the first President bequeathed to this nation,
Prof. Prah mentioned infrastructure, high levels of discipline, high
standard of education, low crime rates and other commendable social
initiatives such as providing school children with three square meals
a day.
"The situation today is the opposite. There is no access to portable
water for even schools, high incidence of indiscipline and crime,
corruption." He attributed these to insensitivity on the part of some
of our leaders who think that their government is in power and so they
do what ever pleases them.
In the Professor's view, bribery and corruption have become the number
one problem in Africa to the extent that "the bribery and corruption
we see today has become part of human life with no regret."
Professor Prah also identified disunity as a problem in Africa and
urged leaders to unite and work as one continent because without unity
there would be no future for the continent.
He cautioned the Ghana government to nip the problem of corruption in
the bud, otherwise Ghana will have a problem on her hands in a few
years - unemployment and other pertinent issues also deserve immediate
attention.
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